The NCIS Weekly Drabble
by Proseac
Summary: A slightly less ambitious endeavour to watch one NCIS episode per week, and write a drabble thereon, every single week, starting January 29, 2012. Starts with Episode 9x12 - Housekeeping.
1. Episode 9x12: Housekeeping

NCIS Weekly Drabble

Prompt: ncis_drabble challenge #186 - 'Episode Related'  
>Episode 9.12 – Housekeeping<br>Original Airdate: January 3, 2012  
>WARNING: SPOILERS!<p>

Title: _'Trust No One'  
><em>Characters/Pairings: Tony, Gibbs, Casey Stratton, Clayton Jarvis  
>Word Count: 100<br>Rating: G

Summary: Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Sometimes it's hard to tell them apart.

Beta by **Karaokegal**

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><p>"Jarvis must be one hell of a liar."<p>

There will be time, back in the squad room, for Gibbs to refute Tony's observation. Right now, he'll respond purely for Stratton's benefit (or Cole, or whatever the hell he's calling himself at the moment). The bastard doesn't need to know that his captor himself had to lie in order to put this plan in motion.

Gibbs is no stranger to the art of deception; he's as accomplished as DiNozzo when the need arises. It's sad, though, when you have to use the technique on one of your own.

Loose lips. Or...?


	2. Episode 9x13: A Desperate Man

NCIS Weekly Drabble

Prompt: ncis_drabble challenge #186 - 'Episode Related'  
>Episode 9.13 – A Desperate Man<br>Original Airdate: January 10, 2012  
>WARNING: SPOILERS!<p>

Title: _'Looking for Love in All the Wrong Faces'  
><em>Characters/Pairings: Tony, Ziva, Det. Nick Burris, Wendy Vanderlicht  
>Word Count: 100<br>Rating: G

Summary: There's gotta be more to it than this.

Beta by **Karaokegal**

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><p>"I just don't want to live with regrets, you know?" <em>Believe me, Ziva I know.<em>

This isn't the life Tony envisioned at age 43. He's rarely alone, but he's always lonely. And no, he's not happy.

It's convenient to let Nick Burris think it was Wendy who called it off; if the guy knew the truth, he'd have Tony pegged for the idiot he is. She's been crowding Tony's thoughts lately, since that Christmas invitation landed on his desk. Filling his head with doubts.

He's encouraging Ziva to jump in, feet first - it seems obvious now.

Hindsight is 20/20.


	3. Episode 9x14: Life Before His Eyes

NCIS Weekly Drabble

Prompt: ncis_drabble challenge #186 - 'Episode Related'  
>Episode 9.14 – Life Before His Eyes<br>Original Airdate: February 7, 2012  
>WARNING: SPOILERS!<p>

Title: _'Albatross'  
><em>Characters/Pairings: McGee, Tony  
>Word Count: 100<br>Rating: G

Summary: Your sincerity's disconcerting.

Unbeta'd - comments & concrit welcome.

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><p>"What do I do?"<p>

The moment the words are out of Timothy McGee's mouth, the absurdity of the situation hits him.

Tony is the man who passed up Rota – the opportunity of a lifetime. Tony is the man who's been stuck in the same job for eleven years; who could have done so much more with his life. Tony is the man who so eloquently declared that, "we're not big on change around here."

Probably not the oracle Tim ought to be consulting.

He's a grown man, perfectly capable of making his own decisions...and caught somewhere between melancholy and constipation.


	4. Episode 9x15: Secrets

NCIS Weekly Drabble

Prompt: ncis_drabble challenge #186 - 'Episode Related'  
>Episode 9.15 – Secrets<br>Original Airdate: February 14, 2012  
>WARNING: SPOILERS!<p>

Title: _'MARVELous'  
><em>Characters/Pairings: Ducky, Gibbs  
>Word Count: 100<br>Rating: G

Summary: He took his role as a vigilante quite seriously.

Beta by **Karaokegal**

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><p>Sometimes, Gibbs finds Ducky's insight downright frightening. He's as good a sharp-shooter as Gibbs ever was, and the weapon he wields is just as deadly: objectivity.<p>

"These men and women have channelled their angst into something positive. Who's to judge?" _Bang_.

What makes Gibbs any different? He's no stranger to personal tragedy. He dealt with it in his own way – a much more dramatic way than any of these 'Real-Life Super-Heroes' would dare to contemplate. It may have been wrong, but given the chance, he'd do it again.

Kindred spirits...but he wouldn't be caught dead in a pair of tights.

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><p><em><strong>AN: For those not familiar with the comic book world, the title is a play on the name of one of the two biggest comic book publishers, Marvel Comics (the other one being DC Comics).**_


	5. Episode 9x16: Psych Out

NCIS Weekly Drabble

Prompt: ncis_drabble challenge #186 - 'Episode Related'  
>Episode 9.16 – Psych Out<br>Original Airdate: February 21, 2012  
>WARNING: SPOILERS!<p>

Title: _'Ulterior Motives'  
><em>Characters/Pairings: Gibbs, Dr. Samantha Ryan  
>Word Count: 100<br>Rating: G

Summary: "Psy-Ops 101. You approach people at their most vulnerable."

Beta by **Karaokegal**

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><p>He's never completed a lie-detector test. He's dodged psych evaluations for years; not even Rachel Cranston was able to get him to open up. He's naturally suspicious of brain-gamers and shrinks.<p>

So, how is it that, at 4 am, he's agreeing to meet Samantha Ryan for breakfast ? This is the woman who bugged his basement; the woman who insisted on playing head games with him.

She almost lost it yesterday in his living room...was it real, or just for his benefit? The other day, in her office, she asked if he liked pancakes.

Perhaps she planned this all along...


	6. Episode 9x17: Need to Know

NCIS Weekly Drabble

Prompt: ncis_drabble challenge #186 - 'Episode Related'  
>Episode 9.17 – Need to Know<br>Original Airdate: February 28, 2012  
>WARNING: SPOILERS!<p>

Title: _'Mentor/Tormentor'_  
>CharactersPairings: Tim McGee, Ned Dorneget  
>Word Count: 100<br>Rating: G

Summary: This is a test.

Beta by **Karaokegal**

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><p>McGee would like to think he was never quite so green as Ned Dorneget, but he knows he was. In fact, Dorney's wide-eyed eagerness to join Team Gibbs is frighteningly familiar.<p>

He remembers the hazing, the embarrassing moments, the screw-ups. He wasn't quite truthful with his hapless companion. Gibbs _does_ give second chances. If he didn't, Tim would still be pushing paper in some back room at the Norfolk office.

He's got a golden opportunity here to showcase all he's learned from DiNozzo; to be simultaneously mentor and tormentor. It's tempting...but he has a long memory.

And he's not Tony.


	7. Episode 9x18: The Tell

NCIS Weekly Drabble

Prompt: ncis_drabble challenge #186 - 'Episode Related'  
>Episode 9.18 – The Tell<br>Original Airdate: March 20, 2012  
>WARNING: SPOILERS!<p>

Title: _'The Scientific Method'  
><em>Characters/Pairings: Abby Sciuto, Dr. Samantha Ryan  
>Word Count: 100<br>Rating: G

Summary: Who's playing doctor now?

Beta by **Karaokegal**

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><p>"Why this need to chart the unexplainable?"<p>

To Abby Sciuto, Dr. Ryan's question is ridiculous. If one doesn't chart the unexplainable, how will it ever be explained?

Abby likes being an enigma, and that's probably why she hates brain-gamers so much. Anyone who tries to get into her head – her private space – is not welcome.

Samantha Ryan's no different from Rachel Cranston, or any other shrink she's encountered. They think they have all the answers, and fill in the blanks when there are pieces missing. Ryan thinks with her gut – just like Gibbs – which is cool.

It's just not science.


	8. Episode 9x19: The Good Son

NCIS Weekly Drabble  
>Prompt: ncis_drabble challenge #186 - 'Episode Related'<br>Episode 9.19 – The Good Son  
>Original Airdate: March 27, 2012<br>WARNING: SPOILERS!

Title: _'Tough Love'  
><em>Characters/Pairings: Leon Vance, Jackie Vance, Michael Thomas  
>Word Count: 100<br>Rating: G

Summary: It's not his fault, but that's cold comfort.

Beta by **Karaokegal**

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><p>They say there's no job more difficult than being a parent. Until now that seemed a mere platitude, but as he watches DiNozzo leading Michael away in cuffs, 'difficult' takes on a whole new meaning for Leon Vance.<p>

He thought he knew what was best for Jackie's little brother. The road to hell is paved with good intentions – there's another platitude. Deep down, he always knew she was right. Could his good intentions actually have condemned Michael to a life of crime?

What's even more chilling is that he feels helpless to prevent Jared from going down the same path.


	9. Episode 9x20: The Missionary Position

NCIS Weekly Drabble  
>Prompt: ncis_drabble challenge #186 - 'Episode Related'<br>Episode 9.20 – The Missionary Position  
>Original Airdate: April 10, 2012<br>WARNING: SPOILERS!

Title: _'Dead Weight'  
><em>Characters/Pairings: Tony DiNozzo, Jeanne Benoit, Paula Cassidy, Jenny Shepard, Ziva David  
>Word Count: 100<br>Rating: G

Summary: If you keep piling it on, one day, you can't move.

Beta by **Karaokegal**

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><p>Tony knows all about guilt. He lives with it every day of his life. With each passing year, the burden gets heavier; not just because he can't change the past, but because there's no foreseeable end to the trail of destruction he leaves behind.<p>

Jeanne enters his thoughts more often than he'd like to admit. So does Paula. So does Jenny. None of those terrible outcomes was really his fault, but he blames himself anyway. Who will be next – Ziva?

No. It's one of the key reasons he'll never go there. She already thinks he's dead weight.

Why tempt fate?


	10. Episode 9x21: Rekindled

NCIS Weekly Drabble  
>Prompt: ncis_drabble challenge #186 - 'Episode Related'<br>Episode 9.21 – Rekindled  
>Original Airdate: April 17, 2012<br>WARNING: SPOILERS!

Title: _'Revenge of the Nerd'  
><em>Characters/Pairings:  
>Word Count: 100<br>Rating: G

Summary: Sounds like a bunch of geek speak to me.

Beta by **Karaokegal**

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><p>After eight years on Team Gibbs, Tim is completely comfortable in his own skin. The nerd jokes lobbed across the bullpen are few and far between these days, and when they come, he handles them with a deft backhand.<p>

He wasn't expecting to be insulted by someone who builds tech for a living. Murdoch may be a geek, but he's not a _cool_ geek, like Bill Gates. He's a smart-ass, just like Tony, but with a condescention his partner would never exhibit.

Picking apart his defenses in interrogation is immensely satisfying.

That arrow in the knee was totally worth it.


	11. Episode 9x22: Playing with Fire

NCIS Weekly Drabble  
>Episode 9.22 – Playing With Fire<br>Original Airdate: May 1, 2012  
>WARNING: SPOILERS!<p>

Title: _'No Expiry Date'  
><em>Characters/Pairings: Tony, Stan Burley  
>Word Count: 100<br>Rating: G

Summary: "I can't believe you're still with Gibbs."

Beta by **Karaokegal**

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><p>Tony remembers feeling insecure the day he met Stan Burley – was it really nine years ago? According to Abby, Burley was some sort of legend, and Kate had a little too much fun watching him vie for Gibbs' attention.<p>

Today, making small talk in MTAC, Tony's no longer intimidated by Stan's reputation. There was a time when beating Stan's five year record with Gibbs seemed unthinkable, but these days he doesn't even flinch when the boss slinks up behind him.

He knows he's come into his own when Burley asks about the basement...

"I haven't been down there in awhile."


	12. Episode 9x23: Up In Smoke

NCIS Weekly Drabble  
>Episode 9.23 – Up In Smoke<br>Original Airdate: May 8, 2012  
>WARNING: SPOILERS!<p>

Title: _'Like a Human'  
><em>Characters/Pairings: Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Samantha Ryan  
>Word Count: 100<br>Rating: G

Summary: "Why can't you just be like a regular person?"

Beta by **Karaokegal**

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><p>He's never felt so off-balance. She frustrates him. She fascinates him. They're a lot alike...inscrutable...bull-headed. The realization kills him, but when she points it out, he finds he can't deny it.<p>

Different strategies, but the end-game is virtually the same. He shuts down; she slides into psycho-babble. He's been known to keep a secret or two – Rule #4 and all that. But Ryan's secrets are actually leading Gibbs to question her loyalty.

If he's honest, he can't justify those feelings. After all, he treats his team pretty much the way she's treating him. They'd never question _his_ loyalty.

Would they?


	13. Episode 9x24: Till Death Do Us Part

NCIS Weekly Drabble

Episode 9.24 – Till Death Do Us Part  
>Original Airdate: May 15, 2012<br>WARNING: SPOILERS!

Title: _'Judgement Day – The Sequel'  
><em>Characters/Pairings: Tony DiNozzo, NCIS Special Agent Russell Wallace, Leon Vance  
>Word Count: 100<br>Rating: G

Summary: Two Thumbs Down

Unbeta'd - comments & concrit welcome

**A/N: It's been an age since I posted one of these. I'm extremely relieved to finally see the back of Season 9 and Samantha Ryan. Once I can put Harper Dearing behind me too, I'll be a happy camper again. I promise not to leave it so long this time. :)**

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><p>It's like a bad remake of a horror film.<p>

Tony had a starring role in the original, and he doesn't envy Special Agent Russell Wallace the top billing this time around. It's a relief being nothing more than a supporting player, but that doesn't make going through Vance's luggage any less disconcerting.

"We did not lose the Director. We just don't know where she is." Yeah. It still sounds ridiculous, four years on. He didn't enjoy this movie the first time around; too much violence. Does he dare hope for an alternate ending?

After all, this is the Director's cut.


End file.
